I turned at the sound of her voice. She sounded as disinterested as always, but it made me listen immediately. I saw my Mussy-head a few feet away, standing in the doorway.

"M—Mussy-head," I stuttered. Seeing her still made me nervous, though it had been over a year since she broke the news that she was moving to Los Angeles. She came back after a year, saying that her parents could tell that she was not truly happy. And that was how she had been in Japan for almost two months, working in the SP and watching me with careful eyes.

"Um, Naru-Naru?" she repeated, waving a hand in front of me. She looked at me worriedly. "Are you okay? Is your arm bothering you? I know it's supposed to be healed up but it could flare back up. "

So…cute, I thought. The way she looked up at me—I couldn't figure out why I'd never noticed it any earlier than I did. And then I realized she was waiting for an answer. "I-I was just thinking. My arm's completely fine. In fact, it has been for quite some time now. So don't worry about it." My face seemed warm.

"If you say so." Her lips turned up a little bit. I wanted to lean down and—do what exactly? Kiss her? But that would be something completely new to me. My allergy to all women made it where I had never wanted to be in a relationship. Ever. So…I had no clue what to do. I was pissing myself off.

She bumped her shoulder against mine. That simple bit of physical contact sent my heart on a frenzy and my face on fire. It was embarrassing! I needed to be a man, but I had no clue how! Dammit! I leaned my head down towards hers—my eyes were level with hers—and she gazed at me expectantly. I lost my cool and pulled away, turning my head nervously away. I heard her sigh.

"Well, I just wanted to check on you since you weren't with all the guys," Mussy-head said. I thought she sounded a little disappointed, but I really couldn't tell. I whipped around and reached out to stop her, my hand landing on her shoulder.

"Mussy-head," I murmured. She turned around partially. The look in her eyes was not one I was used to seeing on Kiri Koshiba, but it was one that I could get used to seeing. I liked it. I leaned my head down and pressed my lips against hers, softly. I could feel her smile, knew that I caused that smile. I felt overwhelmingly happy in a way that I hadn't felt before.

"I thought I had told you not to call me that," she murmured softly. "Jeez, Naru-Naru."

"I don't like Naru-Naru," I told her. "But I don't know what else to call you."

"How about my name? Kiri isn't a hard name."

"Ki…Ki…Ki…ri…" I mumbled. I couldn't do it. Mussy-head was Mussy-head, was Mussy-head.

"Almost there," she encouraged patiently, like she was addressing a small child.

"Ki…Ki…ri. Kiri. Kiri!" I exclaimed. No suffix; just Kiri. Exactly how I wanted to address her. Familiarly.

Kiri smiled at me. "Good job."

"Your turn," I told her.

"What do you mean, my turn?"

"No more Naru-Naru, Kiri. You can leave that to Kei."

"Shogo." She spoke so softly, I didn't hear her at first.

"What was that?"

"Shogo," she said a little louder.

"Once more," I told her, leaning down.

Her eyes met mine. "Shogo," she whispered. My lips brushed hers for just a sweet second before I heard footsteps. I could feel my face warming up. The footsteps approached, then kept going. They didn't stop, didn't see us. I sighed, feeling relieved. Kiri laughed.

"What?" I asked quickly. "What!"

"Nothing," she said, placing a hand on my warm cheek. "I like your embarrassed face, but I think anger suits you best. Sometimes."

"Sometimes?" My lips quirked up.

"Sometimes." She kissed me, then turned away and started walking. I caught up to her, grabbing her hand. I loved how I didn't break out into a rash. Shogo Narumi: allergic to all women but her. I liked how that sounded. We walked like that until we reached the SP clubroom, an uber-luxurious place since my father paid to refurbish in stylishly and comfortably. We were greeted by Kazuhiko—who was giving me a dirty look,—Kei, Aoyama-san and Seki-san, and that loud idiot who was yelling things in English at my little sister, Chisami. Chisami ran at me, but I dodged her. I did not want to break out into a rash and ruin my lovely moment. I picked up my scissors and got to work practicing. Kiri was right beside me, working with her own scissors, the legendary gold ones.

It was a nice day.

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